


Before

by chumett



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Before Ilos, F/M, Flash Fic, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-16 01:41:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29693106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chumett/pseuds/chumett
Summary: Before Ilos, Commander Shepard has a nervous visitor.
Relationships: Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian
Kudos: 25





	Before

She was reading and re-reading Liara’s report on geth weaknesses, eyes struggling to focus on the words and their meaning, when the alert for her door chimed and Garrus came striding quickly in.

“Shepard,” he greeted sharply, making the hair on the back of her neck stand on end as his mandibles flickered.

“Everything alright, Vakarian?” she asked, jumping to her feet, shoulders squared as her eyes set on him.

He stared at her for a moment before she noticed the bottles and glasses cradled in his palms. He cleared his throat and shook his head, letting them clink together as he raised his hands.

“I thought you could use a drink.” 

There was a long silence as he continued to stare at her, though his mind seemed far away. He added quietly, “Damn, I could.”

Her shoulders deflated as the Commander whooshed right out of her lungs with her deep breath. Her brows knitted together and despite her efforts to massage the knot out, she just couldn’t.

“I have to admit, Garrus, I’m...having a hard time right now.” She crossed her arms, turning her head to avoid his gaze as she said, much to her surprise, “Feels like Akuze.”

Immediately her cheeks began to burn red and she held up a hand to him as his mandibles flickered again and he went to respond. She didn’t want to hear it... _couldn’t_ hear it. What she wanted was that drink. As soon as the flame of her face died down she turned and met his eyes again, head tilting down in a cat-like stare as she held her hand out, nodding towards the glass in his hands, eyes never leaving his.

“Drinks,” he nodded, moving closer to set the glasses on her desk. 

She did not move as he approached, watching with those sharp green eyes as he shifted into her space, much less bulky and slightly more alien out of his armor. He stared down at her as he uncorked the bottle, his body so close she could practically feel the energy radiating off of him. Was it wrong that she wanted him to move even closer? To reach down and touch her face? Shit, was it crazy of her to feel like this about a turian? To think, of all things, that he was _handsome_?

“Shepard?”

She shivered. Noticeably.

Before he could say anything she snatched the glass he had poured for her out of his hand. That did not stop the low chuckle that vibrated out of that quick mouth of his as she took a big gulp.

“Alright, Shepard?”

He could be so smug sometimes when he wasn’t trying to save the world. 

She wished he’d say her name like that. Not Shepard. Not that sound again, not like that, said with the same delicacy as the Black Widow or the Katana, like she was nothing but a weapon. Nothing but his Commander.

There she went again, tumbling down these inappropriate line of thoughts. Though stealing an Alliance ship to track down a corrupted Spectre was probably a little more heinous she had been distracting herself from that thought as much as she could.

_Drink_ , she thought to herself. And she did just as Garrus raised his own glass to his mouth. She followed suit, eyes transfixed on his mandibles as they spread ever-so-slightly and then his neck as his throat bobbed. That familiar ache began to creep into her torso, that silly desire for him to touch her. For him to know her.

And then his voice cut through her thoughts, softer than usual, and filled with a concern he had only expressed to her in these little moments where she had the time to feel her heartbeat increase and feel herself falling into the hypnosis of his voice.

“You’re bringing me with you, right?” he asked. When she didn’t answer right away he stepped into her and said with more emphasis, “Right, Shepard?”

Her response was immediate, almost confused, as she looked up into his darting eyes. “Garrus, you always come with me.” For more than just his aim.

He let out a breath and took a few big gulps before setting his glass down and refilling it. When he set the bottle back down he fidgeted a moment before turning to her, hand reaching out to touch her wrist for the slightest second when he said, “Stay in my scope and I won’t let a goddamn thing get near you,” before the heat of his fingers was replaced with a disproportionately screaming desire within her.

Fuck.

“Let’s talk about something else. Anything else,” he said quickly, changing the subject as he grabbed the bottle and sauntered down to sit on the edge of her cot, leaning over to rest his elbows on his knees. She followed after him, taking up a post beside him and leaning back to stare up at the ceiling. She could tell by the way he couldn’t stop moving or drinking that he was just as nervous, if not more, than she was.

“Slow down,” she said quietly, reaching out to put a hand over his glass as he went to drink again. When he looked at her she raised a brow and added, “You keep me safe in your scope and I promise no one will be alive to even come close to touching you.”

His hand fell back to join the other between his knees as he stared at her. “Do you ever feel fear, Shepard?”

“Every single mission,” she nodded, letting her hand come back to her side. “But I won’t let that stop me.”

“Oh, trust me, I am aware.” 

He looked down at his glass, swirling the liquid inside. 

They sat like that for some time, drinking slowly with each other and saying very little. It was just enough to keep them from going crazy with anticipation.


End file.
